Army of the West (France)
Army of the West | |
---|---|
Active | 2 October 1793 – 6 January 1796 17 January 1800 – 21 May 1802 |
Country | First French Republic |
Branch | Army |
Type | Army |
Size | Several divisions |
Engagements |
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Jean Baptiste Bernadotte |
The Army of the West (armée de l'Ouest) was one of the
History
Background
The two chief causes of the War in the Vendée were the attempt by the French
Because Revolutionary France was ringed with enemies, very few regular battalions could be spared to fight in the War in the Vendée. At first, local battalions were used, but these men were frightened of the rebels.[3] The French government scraped up more volunteers to send to the Vendée. The 35th Legion of Gendarmes proved to be an effective unit. The German Legion, made up of German and Swiss deserters, fought capably but many promptly deserted to the Vendeans. From the Army of the North and the Army of the Ardennes the government ordered each infantry company to send six men to the Vendée. The battalions formed from these men had poor cohesion. The worst soldiers were the 12 battalions of the Paris National Guard under Antoine Joseph Santerre. Time and again, these undisciplined men fled at the mere sight of their enemies.[4]
After a period of confusion, three armies were formed on 1 May 1793. The Army of the Coasts of Cherbourg covered the area from Saint-Malo east to the Authie River.[5] The Army of the Coasts of Brest guarded the region from Saint-Malo south to the mouth of the Loire River.[6] The Army of the Coasts of La Rochelle was responsible for the lands from the Loire south to the Gironde estuary.[7] In early June, the Vendeans routed a major French Republican force in the Battle of Saumur and captured 46 guns.[8] This was followed by another disaster on 18 July at the Battle of Vihiers when 12,000 rebels smashed a 14,000-man Republican force, inflicting losses of 5,000 men and taking 25 of its 30 guns.[9]
On 23 July, the
The month of September 1793 saw Canclaux repulse a Vendean attack on Nantes and then try to advance into the heart of the Vendée. His efforts were foiled by strong Vendean resistance and because Rossignol failed to fully carry out his part of the plan. Suddenly on 7 October, Canclaux and du Bayet were summarily removed from command. Rossignol was transferred to command the Army of the Coasts of Brest. The intriguer Charles-Philippe Ronsin brought about the change by persuading Minister of War Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte that Canclaux and du Bayet caused the recent defeats. The decision to transfer Rossignol also seemed to show that Ronsin and Bouchotte's confidence in that general was waning.[11]
Creation
By a decree of 2 October 1793, the Army of the West was created by combining the former Army of the Coasts of La Rochelle, the Army of Mayence and that part of the Army of the Coasts of Brest operating in the department of
Soon there was a significant success. On 17 October 1793 at the
At the Battle of Entrames on 27 October, 31,000 Vendeans defeated 25,000 Republicans, inflicting 4,000 casualties.[15] Against the advice of Kléber and Marceau, Léchelle insisted on keeping the army in a single column and attacking immediately. While Kléber, Marceau and Beaupuy were with the front line units, Léchelle stayed in rear and was unable to send help. The Army of the West was routed and scattered in all directions.[16] As the men fled, the hapless Léchelle called out, "What have I done that I should command such cowards?" A soldier shouted back, "What have we done that we should be commanded by such a shit?" At the next army inspection the soldiers yelled, "Down with Léchelle! Long live du Bayet! Long live Kléber!"[12] In despair, Léchelle resigned his command, retired to Nantes and killed himself.[17]
In the crisis, the Army of the North was ordered to send 10,000 reinforcements to put down the rebellion; these arrived in December. Since the Army of the West was in the territory of the Army of the Coasts of Brest, Rossignol assumed command. However, the generals and the
Infernal columns
Kléber believed that he could end the rebellion, but Turreau brushed his ideas aside.[20] Instead, Turreau embarked on a bloody program starting on 24 January 1794. With 80,000 soldiers, he ordered 12 "infernal columns" to sweep the Vendée, taking away all crops, burning farms and killing all suspected rebels. Not even women and children were spared from massacre. Turreau was encouraged in his horrible work by politicians such as Jean-Baptiste Carrier who said, "The women of La Vendée, it is from them that the race of enemies is reborn. The children, they are vipers to be crushed", and, "We will make a cemetery of France".[21] Disgusted with Turreau's "diabolical plan", Marceau left for the Army of the Ardennes in January 1794 and Kléber got a transfer to the Army of the North in April.[20]
The Vendean rebellion, which showed signs of quieting down, flared up again thanks to Turreau's harsh measures. The soldiers of the infernal columns interpreted their orders so loosely that many pro-Republicans were slaughtered along with the rebels. On 13 May, the Committee of Public Safety ordered Turreau to be suspended[20] and sent to command an obscure post. Turreau was replaced by Vimeux. The army counted 103,812 soldiers in April 1794, but only 50,000 were capable of taking the field. Of these, 3,000 men were sent to the Army of the Western Pyrenees and 15,000 to the armies on the Rhine. On 16 August, a new order assigned the army command to Thomas-Alexandre Dumas. At that time, its strength was 45,000 men.[22]
Turreau was arrested after the
Pacification
In October 1794, Dumas was replaced in command of the Army of the West by Canclaux, who took
In August 1795, the Army of the West numbered 27,000–28,000 men after being reinforced from the Army of the North. Grouchy was opposed by Charette with 8,000–12,000-foot and 900 horsemen. On 22 August, there was a conference at Nantes between two representatives, Hoche, du Bayet, Grouchy and Canclaux, who was still sick. It was decided that the three armies must act together against the insurgents. Canclaux was sent to Paris with the plan while Grouchy temporarily filled his place. The French government appointed Hoche as commander-in-chief of the Army of the West. On 2 October 1795, the Count of Artois landed with a Royalist force on the Île d'Yeu. Because Grouchy held the coast with good troops, the Count gave up and returned to England.[27] On 26 December 1795, the French government combined the Army of the West and the Armies of the Coasts of Brest and Cherbourg into a single Army of the Coasts of the Ocean under Hoche. The new army had a nominal strength of 182,956 but really there were 100,000 men present for duty.[28]
Second creation
On 14 January 1800, the
Commanders-in-chief
1793–1796
- 6 – 27 October 1793 : Jean Léchelle
- 28 October – 13 November 1793 : Alexis Chalbos (provisional)
- 14 November – 4 December 1793 : Jean Antoine Rossignol
- 5 – 25 December 1793 : François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers
- 26 December 1793[7] – 17 May 1794 : Louis Marie Turreau
- 18 May – 6 September 1794 : Louis Antoine Vimeux (provisional)
- 7 September 1794 – 23 October 1794 : Thomas-Alexandre Dumas
- 24 October 1794[31] – 6 September 1795 : Jean Baptiste Camille Canclaux
- 7 – 10 September 1795 : Emmanuel de Grouchy(interim)
- 11 September – 17 December 1795 : Lazare Hoche
- 18 December 1795 – 6 January 1796 : Amédée Willot (interim)[32]
1800–1802
- 17 January 1800 – 26 April 1800 : Guillaume Brune
- 27 April – 2 May 1800 : Gabriel Marie Joseph d'Hédouville(provisional)
- 3 May – 10 October 1800 : Jean Baptiste Bernadotte
- 11 October 1800[29] – 4 May 1801 : Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly (interim)
- 5 May – mid-November 1801 : Jean Baptiste Bernadotte
- mid-November – 20 May 1802 : Henri François Delaborde (interim)[30]
Notes
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 6.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 7.
- ^ a b Phipps 2011, p. 8.
- ^ Phipps 2011, pp. 12–14.
- ^ Clerget 1905, p. 30.
- ^ Clerget 1905, p. 29.
- ^ a b c Clerget 1905, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 15.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 49.
- ^ Phipps 2011, pp. 20–22.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 27.
- ^ a b c Phipps 2011, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 59.
- ^ Johnson 1896, pp. 115–119.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 60.
- ^ Johnson 1896, pp. 126–129.
- ^ Johnson 1896, p. 130.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 30.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 31.
- ^ a b c Phipps 2011, p. 33.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 32.
- ^ a b Phipps 2011, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Johnson 1896, p. 332.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 36.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 38.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 42.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 44.
- ^ Phipps 2011, p. 49.
- ^ a b Clerget 1905, p. 96.
- ^ a b Clerget 1905, pp. 106–107.
- ^ Clerget 1905, p. 40.
- ^ Clerget 1905, p. 50.
References
- Clerget, Charles (1905). Tableaux des Armées Françaises pendant les Guerres de la Révolution. Paris: Librarie Militaire R. Chapelot et Cie. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- Johnson, Thomas George (1896). Francois-Severin Marceau (1769–1796). London: George Bell & Sons. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-908692-26-9.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.